The State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that the joint venture, Changan Ford, had established a minimum resale price for its cars in the Chinese municipality of Chongqing since 2013, in violation of the law.

The joint venture did not provide evidence that this complied with the country's antitrust law during the investigation, he said.

"The actions of Ford Changan deprived dealers of their price autonomy, excluded and restricted competition within the brand, and damaged fair competition in the market and the legal interests of consumers," he said.

The fine is equivalent to 4% of sales of the joint venture in Chongqing last year, he added.

Ford and Changan did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Shares in Changan Auto fell more than 5 percent after the news on Wednesday morning.

The movement of the regulator occurs when Ford has been struggling to revive sales in China, the second largest market worldwide for automaker Dearborn, Michigan, where its business began to plummet at the end of 2017.

The president of Changan told Reuters in April that he expects sales at his Ford joint venture to recover later this year.

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